Leather Bottel Cottage

House, possibly used as an ale house at one time. Early 17th century, refronted in the late 18th century, refenestrated in the 19th century mainly within existing openings, with a 1930s west extension and 20th century conservatory.

The building is timber-framed, refronted in diaper brickwork. The roof is tiled, hipped to the east and gabled to the west where there is a former external brick chimneystack, with a catslide roof to the north. It comprises two storeys and two windows.

The plan is a two-bay end chimneystack house with the original front door in the south-western corner and rear door in the centre of the north front, before the late 18th century outshot was built.

The entrance front to the south has two tripartite wooden casements and two doorcases with plank doors in cambered openings. The east side has a 19th century casement and two 20th century windows. The north side has a small late 18th century wooden casement and a 1930s metal casement. Attached to the west is a one-storey hipped-roofed extension in brick and tile added in the 1930s, with a later 20th century brick and wooden conservatory to the west.

The living room, originally the western ground floor room, has a wide open fireplace with wooden bressumer. A 1930s tiled fireplace canopy has been removed. The spine beam has a two-inch chamfer with lambstongue stops and the ceiling beams have runout stops. The north wall has an exposed horizontal beam at ceiling height adjoining a wide architrave with pintle hinges, the original rear door before the later outshot was added. There is an early 19th century plank door. The timber-framed partition wall between this and the eastern room survives. The staircase is built up against the partition as a straight flight, 19th century in date, with a wooden partition of beaded boards. The shorter lengths of ceiling beams in the eastern end of this room indicate that the original access to the upper floor was in this area.

The eastern room (kitchen) is much smaller and has a spine beam and ceiling beams with runout stops. To the north is a wooden door architrave with pintle hinges and a 20th century ledged plank door.

The upper floor has two rooms, each with wide oak floorboards. The front wall has the top of the wallplate visible. The rear wall has the top of the wallplate and midrail visible with jowled upright posts. The partition wall between the two rooms survives with tiebeam and queenposts. The western room retains a cupboard to the south of the chimneystack, formerly with wooden shelves now removed. Part of the cupboard door architrave is the reused edge of an earlier mullioned window with diamond recesses and shutter grooves, with iron pintle hinges and an early 19th century ledged plank door with beaded moulding and iron hinges. There are two other early 19th century ledged doors.

The building is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map as "Leather Bottle" with a path leading to the south-western corner. Only post-World War II maps show the one-storey western extension, thought to have been added in the 1930s. The name suggests that the building may have been in use as an ale house at one time.